Easy Holiday Mocktail

red cranberry holiday mocktail garnished with frozen cranberries mint and lime in a glass with a gold rim.

5 from 3 votes

This simple holiday mocktail recipe is the perfect non-alcoholic drink recipe for the festive season. With a delicious combination of cranberry and apple, it's perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas and can also be made in a batch for guests.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Drinks

Servings:

Calories: 66kcal

Author: Natalie Battaglia

Ingredients

6 mint leaves
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 oz cranberry juice
1 oz apple cider or apple juice
½ oz lime juice
Top with sparkling water or ginger beer (see note 1)
A splash of apple cider vinegar (optional - see note 2)
A pinch of icing sugar (optional - see note 3)

Instructions

Clap your mint leaves in your hands and add to your shaker with the maple syrup. Press down gently a couple of times with your muddler. You just want to bruise the mint slightly.
Add the lime, cranberry and apple juice with some ice and shake well.
Stain into a glass filled with ice and add your choice of cranberries, mint and/or lime to garnish. If you love the 'snow' effect, dust with icing sugar if you wish!

Notes

Note on sugar content: to make this lower sugar, use a low sugar cranberry juice and replace the sweetener with a low sugar sweetener such as monkfruit maple syrup.

Note 1: both sparkling water and ginger beer are delicious in this recipe! You might even like to try a non-alcoholic sparkling wine for a more adult vibe.

Note 2: you can use a little ACV or your favorite non-alcoholic spirit in this recipe if you wish. Apple cider vinegar is a by-product of alcohol, so it adds that little 'bite' that often goes missing when we remove alcohol from a drink. Apple cider vinegar is strong so be sure to start with just a small amount!

Note 3: I used a little icing sugar dusted onto the drink to create a snow effect. Avoid this if you are watching your sugar intake.

Nutrition